📲 The app I use to learn languages: tinyurl.com/475xk6bk 🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning: tinyurl.com/3wn3wz89 ❓When do you feel comfortable saying you know a language? Let me know in the comments!
You know what? As far as I know western countries have chess. But in Asian, each country has its own game like chess. If you are interested in it, you can try. I guarantee they are as fun as chess. Korean chess japan chess china chess and so on
Most people struggle to speak one foreign language fluently, so knowing a few languages on basic or intermediate level is still big achievement and enrichment
Steve, as a native Turkish speaker, I'm really proud of you and I understood everything you said. You've definitely progressed compared to the time before you broke up with Turkish and I'm great to see your relationship healthier now! İyi ki varsın, Steve. Bana çok şey kattın.
Steve: i dont really speak this language. I only know the 30,000 most popular words. Xiaoma: HOW I LEARNED AN ANCIENT DIALECT OF ARABIC IN 12 MINUTES. NATIVES STUNNED.
Steve is beyond B2 in Spanish. I've watched a video he did in Spanish where he spoke at length about various topics and he made only one very minor mistake that even some native speakers might miss.
I only speak two languages and learn only one, but your video are such a motivation ! When I started to learn at 23 a new language everyone told me it was impossible and too late, that I should have done it as a teenager at last, and except if I studied it 100% of my time, I could not succeed. Such a pleasure to see that it is not true !!
You are certainly well beyond C2 in English. And I am pretty sure that you are at least on C1 in French and Spanish from what I saw of you in the last years (for Japanese and Mandarin I can’t tell, but maybe they as well). But it‘s probably a good idea to take the wind out of the sails of all those envious and begrudging people all over the Internet by taking a modest standpoint. I learned a lot from you. You do a great job. Carry on and thank you. BTW I have learned and am still learning 6 foreign languages for the last 15 years (English for the last 45 years). German being my mother tongue.
I agree it’s better to be conservative about one’s abilities in most cases, although I can attest that he’s not too bad at any of the languages we both happen to have both studied.
I was so happy to understand what you said in Turkish! Makes me feel I'm making progress in the language. I like your approach of focusing on good comprehension, and it changed a lot about my way to learn languages - though I tend to focus a lot on grammar from the get go. Greetings from Brazil!
Love your video!! Your accomplishments are amazing and really enjoyed the honesty of this video!! I would say that you are also "native" of course in English and probably C1 in a few of your Group 1 languages. So, IMO you're being humble in your analysis. You're much better than most Polyglots that claim the know like 8 to 10 languages. What I find with most people that use the term Polyglot is that they are native in one language, ~C1 in around two others, ~B2 in most of the others, and ~B1 in the remainder. Doesn't seem like they count a language is known if they are lower than B1 in a language. Yes, language learning is different for everyone depending on their goals. My plan is when I retire to spend half my time in Brazil and half in the U.S. Currently native in English, B2 in Spanish (and speak fairly fluently), B1 in Portuguese, and A1 in German. Goal right now is in 1 more year to reach ~B2 in Portuguese, and then work towards ~C1 in Portuguese. I find your language learning theory and inspiration videos incredible. Thanks for all the great content!!
I have just returned to watch Steve speak about how he became successful in learning languages and what he does to keep going on it. He's an inspiration for us all, and mine of course since I met him on TH-cam. He absolutely knows 20 languages no matter at what level and that's truly admirable. His videos are very motivating which helps a lot of people learn different languages, me included at least to some extent. As for me, I only speak English and Spanish and I would learn additional languages if I had a bunch of time. I speak Spanish natively and learn English thoroughly every day in any way I want, although I've already acquired it. Trying to learn vastly different languages like Russian, Japanese, and German, among others, would mean hard work and getting used to extremely unfamiliar vocabulary, that's simply way beyond me and may imply modifying the way my brain works with English and Spanish, and they could probably be altered.
I love watching your videos because they are very very relatable. My love for the languages and for their cultural aspect has always been essential to my language learning process. I take full advantage of the hyper-focus that comes with it to improve and the results are noticeable.
I like how the similarity you explained between learning a language and falling in love is the same that you talked about with Language Simp, when he was trying to explain what "Simp" means and it all fell back to this similarity
Thank you for your sincerity Steve! It's admirable that you are able to speak in all those languages, and after see your LingQ stats it's clear that you could be able to listening and comprehending them, maybe not as a native, but that's not the point. You've loved so many langfriends🎉😂
Thank you so much Steve, I find you so encouraging. I have studied 11 languages and I have always felt ashamed to say that I don't "speak" them. I started in my later 40's and not even too seriously, except French, Spanish and later, Chinese and Russian. You have helped me to remember what good progress I've made despite not "being fluent" in them. I know a few thousand in the first 3 and Latin (French, German, Spanish, Hebrew, Persian, Russian, Mandarin, Latin, Italian, Pennsylvania German and Polish) several hundred in the others and few in Polish. I know that my fun and relaxed approach along with not worried about being embarrassed, (though I was mortified at first and especially in French!) have been my 2 best assets. I'm doing it for my own joy and for when I meet various persons in my door to door ministry. I love people and it pleases me to show respect to them by trying to understand and communicate with them a bit. I always got the most shocked expressions from the Persians, since I am blond and blue eyed. Just in the last month I was able to speak in French, German, Spanish and some words of Thai and Hindi. I think thats thrilling and I didn't have to be fluent to show love and have fun. I have laid off of all except my daily Spanish and German. I "need" Spanish and I just want (I'm in love with) German. I LOVE Latin but I'm too busy for it at the moment. Progress is slow but steady. Thanks again!
لا تضع العربية في المجموعة الثالثة إنت تتحدث العربية بطريقة جيدة ونحن فخورين بك لأنك تعلمت أصعب لغات العالم مستواك ممتاز و سوف تجيدها مع الزمن أي شئ يحتاج وقت وسوف تتقنها لا تستسلم 🌸🩷🥺
Even you s0eaker of Arabic dialects you can't understand others dialects there is no Arabic language there are multiple dialects Arabic language is only on paper
I appreciate that you focused on "knowing" a language. This is the term I prefer using when speaking about my language skills and passion. The different skills (reading, writing, speaking,...) can be on very different levels - in my case: I hardly ever speak in foregin languages except the ones I really need in my private and business life. When somebody spends hundreds or thousands of hours on stuying a foreign language, it is appropriate to say that he or she knows the language - independently from the levels of one's "performance" in a given situation.
Great video Steve, this is my philosophy with language learning. I quote Socrates “All I know is that I know nothing”. Language Learning is a lifestyle (I feel forever) so I don’t look at it as I’m at point A, and I want to be at point B. I even hear people who are experts in languages still say they still try to learn new words. So language learning isn’t about arrival to me, it’s about ALWAYS KEEPING THE MYSTERY ALIVE!❤(always being a student and KNOWING you DONT KNOW)!
I think you are too modest about your stronger languages such as Japanese. But I like your modesty and realism, so many polyglots exaggerate their competence.
@@quantus5875 I am a native English speaker. Is there a reason you say “of course”? I also comment in French on TH-cam. Okay, I guess my user name is a big clue.
@@StillAliveAndKicking_ Sorry -- I meant that "Steve" is a native English speaker. I inferred Steve but yes -- see how I wrote it could have been mis-interpreted. When I said "of course" I meant that of course, Steve is a native English speaker.
hi Steve, I'd be interested in your doing a video on your strategy to maintain alive all your languages. My own experience is that the more languages i know, the more time i need to spend curating my existing language while learning a new one.
I hear a lot of people defining “knowing a language” in different terms, and I think it’s important everyone learns to respect what that means to each individual. Some consider less than B2 as not knowing a language, while others consider that they do. At any rate, let’s learn to respect and honor everyone’s definition and really be in awe with the fact that they are taking or have taken the time out of their day and life to learn a new language. Not many people dedicate or invest that time towards any particular goal. That in itself is such an amazing accomplishment
I have a tendency to say that I "used to study," "used to know," or "used to be able to speak" dormant languages. If I say that I "know" a language, people will often ask me to speak in that language, so I prefer keeping "I speak" to languages that I can actively, in the moment, speak. My experience is similar to Steve's in that I haven't studied Russian in 2 years now, but whenever I come across something in Russian, I'm always pleasantly surprised by how much is still there passively, which is quite a lot. My output now is at an A1 level, whereas I was B1/flirting with B2 when it was one of my primary languages. Similar experience with my Korean, though it was never quite as strong as my Russian was at its peak.
I like to us approximate CEFR levels (which many language learners are familiar with). So, I say that I am native English, ~B2 Spanish (and can speak fairly fluently), ~B1 Portuguese, and A1 German. What I do is I downgrade languages if I was better at them and I've lost some due to lack of maintenance, for example my Spanish used to be ~B2, and German was ~A2.
You're being very honest with your Languange proficiency. Some youtuber claimed That they can speak many languages but when it comes to the real communication they just can say hi with some basic words and the phrase in that conversation I've heard it's all weird and 80% mis- pronunciation. In any languages you try to speak esp. In SEA or Asia ppl really appreciate that foreigners really try but just dont overclaim it. In linguistics they called "Community Speech" you learn each language to expand more and more till you can communicate in almost every situation of that language like what you comparing with knowing people. English is my second language, I ve been studyin since I was a kid, till now Im 30+ but I am still not 100% grammatically correct when it comes to writing. BTW keep doin it cuz You are such an inspiration for me to acquire more languages. Also, your tricks and tips are great!❤❤❤
this video made me realize to not fixate so much on a specific language so much, something i'm having trouble with right now, and that sometimes its okay for you to move on to something else. before, i was aiming to sound exactly like a spanish native, to the point where if i were to go on a call with another spanish native he wouldn't tell the difference between me and the real thing. of course that is very possible to achieve, but i was just not letting myself go and didnt give myself to a chance to try something else.
When people ask me the languages I speak I say "Portuguese, English and Italian, but I've also studied Spanish and Korean", I prefer to say that I SPEAK a language only if I'm B2+ in that language, but that's totally subjective
Hi Steve! Türkisch finde ich auch sehr schön und interessant. Ich bin jetzt 57 und habe vor ca. 10 Jahren damit angefangen. In Deutschland kann man sehr oft Türkisch sprechen:)) Liebe Grüße aus Nürnberg ❤
Learning a foreign language is cool, I think. Through my experience, I'm learning a language by consuming your content sir. But you know, here, I'm not just learning that. I'm also learning a new mindset. This makes my experience more meaningful. Thanks a lot, your content really helps me ❤
Those who focus on input always seem to be way more honest with the language level/s than those who focus on early output, who often seem to have a very inflated idea of what their level actually is.
I taught myself to read French fluently in 1 year, but never became fluent otherwise. So, being a strong reader, I could have learnt to read 20 languages fluently even though I'd never become fluent otherwise. It's counterintuitive that I can have a fluent vocabulary but not be overall fluent, but if people put effort into speaking clearly, I can converse fluently.
A great video of a relatable thing that all language learners face in their journey of learning multiple languages.... Greetings and love from Pakistan 🇵🇰 Zabardast aur boht behtareen ✨
I find it difficult to judge my ability in many languages, so I try not to think about it. If I am doing challenging activities in the language then I'm improving, and that is the only metric I consistently pay attention to
Obviously Steve’s level for his “first group” of languages is significantly higher than B2. It’s at least C1 in French (my native language), Spanish and German, the other languages I know enough to assess. And by the way, he certainly is “quite comfortable speaking” English, and his accent is also pretty good ! 😊
Steve the reality is you probably know 3 or 4 languages where you would be functional and fluent if you go to those countries. However, the vast majority, you may have trouble using in most situations if you are in the country beyond basic pleasantries.
Going to Turkey this fall, but I can't keep up with learning the languages of the countries I visit unfortunatly. :) Too many other languages in progress to add Turkish. That's frustrating as well.
Hi Steve! I have a question and I hope you'll answer I've been learning English for a little bit more than a year by using LingQ, and I start to feel bored of English even though I really need it for my future so the question is: is there any way to continue to learn English without taking a break of it and not feel bordom?
It's impressive that you claim to speak 10 languages at a B2 level, but I'm curious-have you taken any official language proficiency tests to verify this? Achieving a B2 level, especially in a language like German, is no small feat. Many people who live in Germany and communicate daily still struggle to pass the B2 test. It would be great to know more about how you've measured your proficiency in each language!
I only use these European levels as rough indicators. I have only ever taken a test in Mandarin (British Foreign Service Exam). Also I didn't claim to speak 10 languages at a B2 level but said I have 7 that I consider around that level and others have that potential with more opportunity to speak. I also don't think getting a few things wrong in a test matters as much as your ability to understand and communicate.
I think the problem with language proficiency tests is that they only test how good you are at the specific grammar rules or obscure words/tenses. You might have a very large vocabulary and be able to communicate and understand conversation well at a fluent level however these tests can still grade you poorly. That's why you really shouldn't worry much about language tests but rather your ability to understand and speak the language with others.
@@alexz8849 I agree with you, however, also be aware that CEFR tests 4 things and you can be at different levels in those 4 things -- so it's not all a grammar test and obsucre word/tenses. I once watched a video of a woman who went in detail over her CEFR scores in French and she received a C2 reading, C1 writing, C1 listening, and B2 speaking. That's usually pretty common that "speaking" is the hardest for a non-native speaker learning a language. Btw: She claimed she was a C1 -- which is fair, she kind of took the average -- even though she wasn't C1 in speaking (and she was also very honest in revealing her exact scores).
@@vogditis Disagree that you have to learn a language from childhood to have native or an extremely high level of proficiency -- native pronunciation is the one big advantage of learning a child -- they are super good at learning the "sounds" perfectly at a young enough age -- but adults can become "extremely" proficient at any language if they have enough "hours" in the language (with perfect native repunctuation being the one elusive thing - although even that can be done -- it's just super difficult). You need roughly 600-700 effective training hours for B2 and roughly double that for C1. I agree with you "immersion" really helps -- because you get a TON of hours that way. That's how kids learn they easily get over 1000 effective training hours per year. Also, IMO most people can hardly say anything at A1. A1 IMO is just a super bogus level that you can reach with about 40-50 training hours. I've heard his Portuguese and I'd guestimate Steve's Portuguese at B1/B2 level -- which is what he claimed -- and if he spent a little time with it (like he said) would easily be a solid B2 I think. My point of view is hats off to Steve -- for doing this video and being so honest. Many Polyglots try to make you believe that they are C1 level in most of their languages -- and that's just not true. Love Steve's videos on language learning theory and practice -- and honesty -- makes me respect him all the more.
@@vogditis I do agree with you that is is super difficult to reach C1 in a language unless you live there for at least some years -- but it is possible -- but yes -- not easy, and very rare.
That's a whole lot of languages! Besides my my mother tongue - Swedish, I know: - English C1-C2 - Arabic B2 - French B1 - Italian B1 - Hebrew A2 - Portugese A1 - Spanish A1 - German A1 - Korean A 0.5 (One month in.) Language learning is such an adventure!
Bonjour steve.pourquoi avez vous plus de 90000 en russe est c'est pas dans le 1 et groupe alors que c'est niveau c .je penser plus il y a de mots plus le niveau est élevé.comment fonctionne le système des niveaux ?
《子衿》 Flowing gurgling 因为悠悠 青青子衿，悠悠我心。纵我不往，子宁不嗣音？ 青青子佩，悠悠我思。纵我不往，子宁不来？ 挑兮达兮，在城阙兮。一日不见，如三月兮！ 青青子衿，悠悠我心 (青青看似相同，搭配不同名词有不同的含义。) 轻的柔的衣角，困的扰的内心。 The light and soft corners of the clothes, the troubled and leisure heart of those people. 纵我不往，子宁不嗣音？ 我不去找你，你怎么一点消息也没有。 I don't go to your place, How could you without any information for me. 青青子佩，悠悠我思。 绿的黄的玉佩，缠的绵的思念。 The green and yellow string of the clothes, lingering and touching missing of those people. 纵我不往，子宁不来？ 我不去找你，你也不来看我？ I don't go to your place, how could you without any visit for me. 挑兮达兮，在城阙兮。一日不见，如三月兮！ 我挑着担子，连夜赶路，已经在城楼了。我一天没看到你，就像三个月没见到你。 I runned I climbed , arrived at the city. not see you for a day , means three month so long.
Steve, I love your videos and absolutely love using LingQ! I'm fully bilingual in English and Spanish since I was a child, and I’m currently at around a B2 level in French, but I’ve just started learning Dutch. What’s your take on practicing both French and Dutch on the same day? Do you think working on improving my French (by consuming content, looking up words, etc.) might hinder my ability to acquire Dutch? (without taking into account the opportunity cost of time invested) Or is it more like working different muscle groups at the gym, where one doesn't interfere with the other?
What happens with Spanish if you know Italic , I am sure only one month latter would be happy speaker Spanish 😊 I try learn English is hard but you right I fell in love with English ❤
Turkish is a good language .I am from Azerbaijan and the language of Kazakhstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan is 60% the same. But the language of Azerbaijan and Turkey is much closer. The citizens of this country come from the same root. We are Turks
Hi Steve, I am a big fan of yours. I knew English, Chinese and Japanese. Could you share how could you keep your fluency in 20 languages? Could you share a bit more your daily review schedule or something similar As we know if we don't use a language we lose it quickly. But I have difficulty to keep 3 languages in fluency everyday. Thanks
Dear Steve I have a question and I'll appreciate if you enlighten me. Is translate an article or book from English to Persian(my native language) along with other methods, a good idea for learning English? or this has bad effects and interfere with my procedure of learning?
I can't get over the concept of learning 20 different words for Vacum Cleaner and remember them all! How can a human brain do this? Or 20 words for gate who who knows number number of nouns.
the thing is, a lot of them are going to be related. like the word for tea in most langauges is tea, te, chai, or something very close to that. you aren't learning a new word for tea, you are just learning a variation. another thing is if a word is rarely used, you wouldn't need to know it to know the language. i've been studying spanish for 6 years and i don't know the word for vacuum cleaner in it. but i'd be able to describe it (a machine that sucks air and cleans the floor or carpet) in simpler words, and people would know what i mean. if you know the most common 10,000 or so words in a language, not knowing the other 90,000 technical and complicated words is not a huge handicap. like there's a limit where learning every last word in a language isn't very useful. like in spanish i know a dozen or so names of different fruits, the common ones, but i don't know the word for starfruit, or the word for jackfruit, or the word for mulberry. but knowing the words for apples, grapes, oranges, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, etc., is going to get you far. you can always just point at it and say 'what's the name of that?'
@@rinkuhero I think you will never learn your language as good as your native one. I would think 99.9% of Native English Speakers would know the word for vacuum cleaner. It's kind of my personal joke to myself. When I start to learn a new language one of the first words I look up is vacuum cleaner. Aspiradora LOL.
سلام ، منم درحال یادگیری چندین زبان هستم و ۱۶ سالم هست. چند وقتی بود دنبال چنلی مثل شما بودم که یک مسیر و تجربه ای بهم نشون بده❤ ادامه بدید تسلیم نشید و موفق باشید.
Hi Sir, I appreciate your strive for learning process of all languages. As a native speaker, I understood what u said in Turkish. I watch and follow your contents. 🙏 Selam ve saygılarımla Sayın Kaufmann.
📲 The app I use to learn languages: tinyurl.com/475xk6bk
🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning: tinyurl.com/3wn3wz89
❓When do you feel comfortable saying you know a language? Let me know in the comments!
People ask me if I play chess. It depends on with whom I’m playing.
I always say "well, i know how the pieces move"
MathAdam: You're absolutely right.
You know what? As far as I know western countries have chess. But in Asian, each country has its own game like chess. If you are interested in it, you can try. I guarantee they are as fun as chess. Korean chess japan chess china chess and so on
I mean if you know the rules and how to play the game you do know how to play regardless of how good or badly you play!
@@BodyBeyond-n9y what if you get counteracted by people about your play style every time you play it? You might lose your passion of it
Most people struggle to speak one foreign language fluently, so knowing a few languages on basic or intermediate level is still big achievement and enrichment
Please tell me some of Learning skill in English,I can't listening what people said but I can read and speaking.
me too😢@@BrianRawkingWen
But there are people who have more than two native languages
@@livice-sm5st bro you're Asian also？chances are you and me from a same country.
Steve, as a native Turkish speaker, I'm really proud of you and I understood everything you said. You've definitely progressed compared to the time before you broke up with Turkish and I'm great to see your relationship healthier now! İyi ki varsın, Steve. Bana çok şey kattın.
You are an inspiration. I come back to your channel every time I need a motivational boost. Thank you!
Steve: i dont really speak this language. I only know the 30,000 most popular words.
Xiaoma: HOW I LEARNED AN ANCIENT DIALECT OF ARABIC IN 12 MINUTES. NATIVES STUNNED.
😂😂😂
Steven went from Polyglot to Polygamist real fast😂
lol
😂😅
Steve is beyond B2 in Spanish. I've watched a video he did in Spanish where he spoke at length about various topics and he made only one very minor mistake that even some native speakers might miss.
Fue un discurso libre o un texto preparado que se leyó en voz alta?
Imo he has a C1
After hearing that learning a language is a lot like falling in love with somebody, I think it's safe to say that Steve Kaufmann is a player. 👌
I only speak two languages and learn only one, but your video are such a motivation ! When I started to learn at 23 a new language everyone told me it was impossible and too late, that I should have done it as a teenager at last, and except if I studied it 100% of my time, I could not succeed. Such a pleasure to see that it is not true !!
I'm glad to hear your experience!
I didn’t start Spanish until I was 45…. Totally doable
@@dannymars thanks for your experience, definitely motivating :) !
Grad to know that you didn't let those remarks make you give up on it. I'm sure you just wouldn't have learned if you had given up.
Thanks for everything Steve !! 😊
You are certainly well beyond C2 in English. And I am pretty sure that you are at least on C1 in French and Spanish from what I saw of you in the last years (for Japanese and Mandarin I can’t tell, but maybe they as well). But it‘s probably a good idea to take the wind out of the sails of all those envious and begrudging people all over the Internet by taking a modest standpoint. I learned a lot from you. You do a great job. Carry on and thank you.
BTW I have learned and am still learning 6 foreign languages for the last 15 years (English for the last 45 years). German being my mother tongue.
As a native French speaker I think from what I have heard in previous videos that you have indeed a C1 level.
I agree it’s better to be conservative about one’s abilities in most cases, although I can attest that he’s not too bad at any of the languages we both happen to have both studied.
@@nendoakuma7451👏🤝🍀
I was so happy to understand what you said in Turkish! Makes me feel I'm making progress in the language. I like your approach of focusing on good comprehension, and it changed a lot about my way to learn languages - though I tend to focus a lot on grammar from the get go. Greetings from Brazil!
Love your video!! Your accomplishments are amazing and really enjoyed the honesty of this video!! I would say that you are also "native" of course in English and probably C1 in a few of your Group 1 languages. So, IMO you're being humble in your analysis.
You're much better than most Polyglots that claim the know like 8 to 10 languages. What I find with most people that use the term Polyglot is that they are native in one language, ~C1 in around two others, ~B2 in most of the others, and ~B1 in the remainder. Doesn't seem like they count a language is known if they are lower than B1 in a language.
Yes, language learning is different for everyone depending on their goals. My plan is when I retire to spend half my time in Brazil and half in the U.S. Currently native in English, B2 in Spanish (and speak fairly fluently), B1 in Portuguese, and A1 in German. Goal right now is in 1 more year to reach ~B2 in Portuguese, and then work towards ~C1 in Portuguese.
I find your language learning theory and inspiration videos incredible. Thanks for all the great content!!
Bir Türk olarak söylüyorum. Türkçe konuşmanız çok güzel. Başarılar dilerim. Ben de ingilizce öğretmeniyim ve dil konusunda sizi örnek alıyorum.
I have just returned to watch Steve speak about how he became successful in learning languages and what he does to keep going on it. He's an inspiration for us all, and mine of course since I met him on TH-cam. He absolutely knows 20 languages no matter at what level and that's truly admirable. His videos are very motivating which helps a lot of people learn different languages, me included at least to some extent.
As for me, I only speak English and Spanish and I would learn additional languages if I had a bunch of time. I speak Spanish natively and learn English thoroughly every day in any way I want, although I've already acquired it. Trying to learn vastly different languages like Russian, Japanese, and German, among others, would mean hard work and getting used to extremely unfamiliar vocabulary, that's simply way beyond me and may imply modifying the way my brain works with English and Spanish, and they could probably be altered.
I like your example of knowing comparing knowing the language with knowing people❤
I love watching your videos because they are very very relatable. My love for the languages and for their cultural aspect has always been essential to my language learning process. I take full advantage of the hyper-focus that comes with it to improve and the results are noticeable.
I like how the similarity you explained between learning a language and falling in love is the same that you talked about with Language Simp, when he was trying to explain what "Simp" means and it all fell back to this similarity
Thank you for your sincerity Steve!
It's admirable that you are able to speak in all those languages, and after see your LingQ stats it's clear that you could be able to listening and comprehending them, maybe not as a native, but that's not the point.
You've loved so many langfriends🎉😂
Thank you so much Steve, I find you so encouraging.
I have studied 11 languages and I have always felt ashamed to say that I don't "speak" them. I started in my later 40's and not even too seriously, except French, Spanish and later, Chinese and Russian.
You have helped me to remember what good progress I've made despite not "being fluent" in them. I know a few thousand in the first 3 and Latin (French, German, Spanish, Hebrew, Persian, Russian, Mandarin, Latin, Italian, Pennsylvania German and Polish) several hundred in the others and few in Polish. I know that my fun and relaxed approach along with not worried about being embarrassed, (though I was mortified at first and especially in French!) have been my 2 best assets. I'm doing it for my own joy and for when I meet various persons in my door to door ministry. I love people and it pleases me to show respect to them by trying to understand and communicate with them a bit. I always got the most shocked expressions from the Persians, since I am blond and blue eyed. Just in the last month I was able to speak in French, German, Spanish and some words of Thai and Hindi. I think thats thrilling and I didn't have to be fluent to show love and have fun.
I have laid off of all except my daily Spanish and German. I "need" Spanish and I just want (I'm in love with) German. I LOVE Latin but I'm too busy for it at the moment. Progress is slow but steady.
Thanks again!
Well done Steve! Keep on keeping on!
Helpful observations. Honest and transparent as always.
Yes, super honest!! And your accomplishments are extremely impressive.
لا تضع العربية في المجموعة الثالثة إنت تتحدث العربية بطريقة جيدة ونحن فخورين بك لأنك تعلمت أصعب لغات العالم مستواك ممتاز و سوف تجيدها مع الزمن أي شئ يحتاج وقت وسوف تتقنها لا تستسلم 🌸🩷🥺
Even you s0eaker of Arabic dialects you can't understand others dialects there is no Arabic language there are multiple dialects Arabic language is only on paper
Where are you from miss?
Congrats! Your Turkish is pretty good for a beginner. Way to go !!! Afferin!
I appreciate that you focused on "knowing" a language. This is the term I prefer using when speaking about my language skills and passion. The different skills (reading, writing, speaking,...) can be on very different levels - in my case: I hardly ever speak in foregin languages except the ones I really need in my private and business life. When somebody spends hundreds or thousands of hours on stuying a foreign language, it is appropriate to say that he or she knows the language - independently from the levels of one's "performance" in a given situation.
Great video Steve, this is my philosophy with language learning. I quote Socrates “All I know is that I know nothing”. Language Learning is a lifestyle (I feel forever) so I don’t look at it as I’m at point A, and I want to be at point B. I even hear people who are experts in languages still say they still try to learn new words. So language learning isn’t about arrival to me, it’s about ALWAYS KEEPING THE MYSTERY ALIVE!❤(always being a student and KNOWING you DONT KNOW)!
I am fluent in English, German and French and I am trying to learn Greek and Turkish. At my age it's not an easy task but I like challenges 🙂
I think you are too modest about your stronger languages such as Japanese. But I like your modesty and realism, so many polyglots exaggerate their competence.
Agreed. And you are of course "native" in English.
@@quantus5875 I am a native English speaker. Is there a reason you say “of course”? I also comment in French on TH-cam. Okay, I guess my user name is a big clue.
@@StillAliveAndKicking_ Sorry -- I meant that "Steve" is a native English speaker. I inferred Steve but yes -- see how I wrote it could have been mis-interpreted. When I said "of course" I meant that of course, Steve is a native English speaker.
@@quantus5875 Ah okay.
hi Steve, I'd be interested in your doing a video on your strategy to maintain alive all your languages. My own experience is that the more languages i know, the more time i need to spend curating my existing language while learning a new one.
I hear a lot of people defining “knowing a language” in different terms, and I think it’s important everyone learns to respect what that means to each individual. Some consider less than B2 as not knowing a language, while others consider that they do. At any rate, let’s learn to respect and honor everyone’s definition and really be in awe with the fact that they are taking or have taken the time out of their day and life to learn a new language. Not many people dedicate or invest that time towards any particular goal. That in itself is such an amazing accomplishment
I have a tendency to say that I "used to study," "used to know," or "used to be able to speak" dormant languages. If I say that I "know" a language, people will often ask me to speak in that language, so I prefer keeping "I speak" to languages that I can actively, in the moment, speak. My experience is similar to Steve's in that I haven't studied Russian in 2 years now, but whenever I come across something in Russian, I'm always pleasantly surprised by how much is still there passively, which is quite a lot. My output now is at an A1 level, whereas I was B1/flirting with B2 when it was one of my primary languages. Similar experience with my Korean, though it was never quite as strong as my Russian was at its peak.
I like to us approximate CEFR levels (which many language learners are familiar with). So, I say that I am native English, ~B2 Spanish (and can speak fairly fluently), ~B1 Portuguese, and A1 German.
What I do is I downgrade languages if I was better at them and I've lost some due to lack of maintenance, for example my Spanish used to be ~B2, and German was ~A2.
Tebriker Steve Bey! Türkçe konuşmanız çok hoşuma gitti.
Love to hear you speak Turkish Steve!
Could you make a review of Turkish language for those considering learning it? What are the easy parts? challenging parts?
You're being very honest with your
Languange proficiency. Some youtuber claimed That they can speak many languages but when it comes to the real communication they just can say hi with some basic words and the phrase in that conversation I've heard it's all weird and 80% mis- pronunciation. In any languages you try to speak esp. In SEA or Asia ppl really appreciate that foreigners really try but just dont overclaim it. In linguistics they called "Community Speech" you learn each language to expand more and more till you can communicate in almost every situation of that language like what you comparing with knowing people. English is my second language, I ve been studyin since I was a kid, till now Im 30+ but I am still not 100% grammatically correct when it comes to writing. BTW keep doin it cuz You are such an inspiration for me to acquire more languages. Also, your tricks and tips are great!❤❤❤
The best teacher and polyglot, Steve Kaufmann. From Turkey.
this video made me realize to not fixate so much on a specific language so much, something i'm having trouble with right now, and that sometimes its okay for you to move on to something else. before, i was aiming to sound exactly like a spanish native, to the point where if i were to go on a call with another spanish native he wouldn't tell the difference between me and the real thing. of course that is very possible to achieve, but i was just not letting myself go and didnt give myself to a chance to try something else.
When people ask me the languages I speak I say "Portuguese, English and Italian, but I've also studied Spanish and Korean", I prefer to say that I SPEAK a language only if I'm B2+ in that language, but that's totally subjective
Hi Steve! Türkisch finde ich auch sehr schön und interessant. Ich bin jetzt 57 und habe vor ca. 10 Jahren damit angefangen. In Deutschland kann man sehr oft Türkisch sprechen:))
Liebe Grüße aus Nürnberg ❤
"do you know how to draw?"
Everyone knows HOW to draw, doesn't mean you're any good at it
Learning a foreign language is cool, I think. Through my experience, I'm learning a language by consuming your content sir. But you know, here, I'm not just learning that. I'm also learning a new mindset. This makes my experience more meaningful. Thanks a lot, your content really helps me ❤
Hi, Steve! Thank you for your inspirational achieviments on languages acquirement. I think you have a brilliant mind!
As a Turkish, I can say that your speaking skills are good enough for communicate with others.
Those who focus on input always seem to be way more honest with the language level/s than those who focus on early output, who often seem to have a very inflated idea of what their level actually is.
So you're saying the people who say on TH-cam that they learned a language in 7 days are lying to me? 😮😥
As a language lover I appreciate your efforts into languages ❤❤ best wishes❤❤❤
sir your the best tutor I`,ve ever seen thanks for youre tremendous ınformatıons. :)
Harikasınız 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Immersive translate is incredible for revision of foreign languages. I definitely recommend it
Steve saying his English is more or less B2 is pure madlad behaviour 😂😂
I taught myself to read French fluently in 1 year, but never became fluent otherwise. So, being a strong reader, I could have learnt to read 20 languages fluently even though I'd never become fluent otherwise. It's counterintuitive that I can have a fluent vocabulary but not be overall fluent, but if people put effort into speaking clearly, I can converse fluently.
A great video of a relatable thing that all language learners face in their journey of learning multiple languages.... Greetings and love from Pakistan 🇵🇰
Zabardast aur boht behtareen ✨
You are truly a legend🎉🎉❤❤
Very interesting vid - thanks!
Thank you for your honesty
Great information, thank you
I wish you lots of Turkish delight!
Pls, do another video just like this one but detailing how many hours you studied each language and the methods you used, thanks
I find it difficult to judge my ability in many languages, so I try not to think about it. If I am doing challenging activities in the language then I'm improving, and that is the only metric I consistently pay attention to
Obviously Steve’s level for his “first group” of languages is significantly higher than B2. It’s at least C1 in French (my native language), Spanish and German, the other languages I know enough to assess. And by the way, he certainly is “quite comfortable speaking” English, and his accent is also pretty good ! 😊
Steve the reality is you probably know 3 or 4 languages where you would be functional and fluent if you go to those countries. However, the vast majority, you may have trouble using in most situations if you are in the country beyond basic pleasantries.
I think you would find easy to learn Dutch! Also Indonesian and Hebrew could be a great addition!!
Helal olsun Steve hocam 🎉
4:02 turkish loves you too, Steve! Aferin 👏
Going to Turkey this fall, but I can't keep up with learning the languages of the countries I visit unfortunatly. :) Too many other languages in progress to add Turkish. That's frustrating as well.
Hi Steve! I have a question and I hope you'll answer
I've been learning English for a little bit more than a year by using LingQ, and I start to feel bored of English even though I really need it for my future
so the question is: is there any way to continue to learn English without taking a break of it and not feel bordom?
Steve, Türkçe video yapmaya hazırsın artık,heyecanla bekliyoruz✨💫✨
It's impressive that you claim to speak 10 languages at a B2 level, but I'm curious-have you taken any official language proficiency tests to verify this? Achieving a B2 level, especially in a language like German, is no small feat. Many people who live in Germany and communicate daily still struggle to pass the B2 test. It would be great to know more about how you've measured your proficiency in each language!
I only use these European levels as rough indicators. I have only ever taken a test in Mandarin (British Foreign Service Exam). Also I didn't claim to speak 10 languages at a B2 level but said I have 7 that I consider around that level and others have that potential with more opportunity to speak. I also don't think getting a few things wrong in a test matters as much as your ability to understand and communicate.
I think the problem with language proficiency tests is that they only test how good you are at the specific grammar rules or obscure words/tenses. You might have a very large vocabulary and be able to communicate and understand conversation well at a fluent level however these tests can still grade you poorly. That's why you really shouldn't worry much about language tests but rather your ability to understand and speak the language with others.
@@alexz8849 I agree with you, however, also be aware that CEFR tests 4 things and you can be at different levels in those 4 things -- so it's not all a grammar test and obsucre word/tenses. I once watched a video of a woman who went in detail over her CEFR scores in French and she received a C2 reading, C1 writing, C1 listening, and B2 speaking. That's usually pretty common that "speaking" is the hardest for a non-native speaker learning a language. Btw: She claimed she was a C1 -- which is fair, she kind of took the average -- even though she wasn't C1 in speaking (and she was also very honest in revealing her exact scores).
@@vogditis Disagree that you have to learn a language from childhood to have native or an extremely high level of proficiency -- native pronunciation is the one big advantage of learning a child -- they are super good at learning the "sounds" perfectly at a young enough age -- but adults can become "extremely" proficient at any language if they have enough "hours" in the language (with perfect native repunctuation being the one elusive thing - although even that can be done -- it's just super difficult). You need roughly 600-700 effective training hours for B2 and roughly double that for C1. I agree with you "immersion" really helps -- because you get a TON of hours that way. That's how kids learn they easily get over 1000 effective training hours per year.
Also, IMO most people can hardly say anything at A1. A1 IMO is just a super bogus level that you can reach with about 40-50 training hours. I've heard his Portuguese and I'd guestimate Steve's Portuguese at B1/B2 level -- which is what he claimed -- and if he spent a little time with it (like he said) would easily be a solid B2 I think.
My point of view is hats off to Steve -- for doing this video and being so honest. Many Polyglots try to make you believe that they are C1 level in most of their languages -- and that's just not true. Love Steve's videos on language learning theory and practice -- and honesty -- makes me respect him all the more.
@@vogditis I do agree with you that is is super difficult to reach C1 in a language unless you live there for at least some years -- but it is possible -- but yes -- not easy, and very rare.
Thank you so much my teacher
That's a whole lot of languages!
Besides my my mother tongue
- Swedish, I know:
- English C1-C2
- Arabic B2
- French B1
- Italian B1
- Hebrew A2
- Portugese A1
- Spanish A1
- German A1
- Korean A 0.5 (One month in.)
Language learning is such an adventure!
Wow ! So many languages
You should get your IQ checked, you might be in 130s, btw can you tell how you learn words & their meanings ?
☺️ Günün Güzel Haberi🌼👋🌼
How do you learn words and how do you practice foreign language if there is no person who speaks in foreign language which you learn?
Bonjour steve.pourquoi avez vous plus de 90000 en russe est c'est pas dans le 1 et groupe alors que c'est niveau c .je penser plus il y a de mots plus le niveau est élevé.comment fonctionne le système des niveaux ?
《子衿》 Flowing gurgling 因为悠悠
青青子衿，悠悠我心。纵我不往，子宁不嗣音？
青青子佩，悠悠我思。纵我不往，子宁不来？
挑兮达兮，在城阙兮。一日不见，如三月兮！
青青子衿，悠悠我心 (青青看似相同，搭配不同名词有不同的含义。)
轻的柔的衣角，困的扰的内心。
The light and soft corners of the clothes, the troubled and leisure heart of those people.
纵我不往，子宁不嗣音？
我不去找你，你怎么一点消息也没有。
I don't go to your place, How could you without any information for me.
青青子佩，悠悠我思。
绿的黄的玉佩，缠的绵的思念。
The green and yellow string of the clothes, lingering and touching missing of those people.
纵我不往，子宁不来？
我不去找你，你也不来看我？
I don't go to your place, how could you without any visit for me.
挑兮达兮，在城阙兮。一日不见，如三月兮！
我挑着担子，连夜赶路，已经在城楼了。我一天没看到你，就像三个月没见到你。
I runned I climbed , arrived at the city. not see you for a day , means three month so long.
Good morning how's it going today ☀️ I speak 5 languages french Spanish English Portuguese crealo I'm learning Arabic now,
Amazing sir
Grazie, Steve
Steve,
I love your videos and absolutely love using LingQ! I'm fully bilingual in English and Spanish since I was a child, and I’m currently at around a B2 level in French, but I’ve just started learning Dutch.
What’s your take on practicing both French and Dutch on the same day? Do you think working on improving my French (by consuming content, looking up words, etc.) might hinder my ability to acquire Dutch? (without taking into account the opportunity cost of time invested) Or is it more like working different muscle groups at the gym, where one doesn't interfere with the other?
What happens with Spanish if you know Italic , I am sure only one month latter would be happy speaker Spanish 😊 I try learn English is hard but you right I fell in love with English ❤
I want plan for lerand english ❤
Go for it, friend!
What about Hebrew from school?
Turkish is a good language .I am from Azerbaijan and the language of Kazakhstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan is 60% the same. But the language of Azerbaijan and Turkey is much closer. The citizens of this country come from the same root. We are Turks
Steven’s group 1 languages are all learned when he was young 50 years ago.
Hey steve can you really listen to movie in your second category languages?? Then it would be preety high level. Probably above b2
Hi Steve, I am a big fan of yours. I knew English, Chinese and Japanese. Could you share how could you keep your fluency in 20 languages? Could you share a bit more your daily review schedule or something similar As we know if we don't use a language we lose it quickly. But I have difficulty to keep 3 languages in fluency everyday. Thanks
As I said in the video, I do't maintain them and need to refresh them to be able to use them, other than the strongest 7 or so.
Steve, what about Finnish?
I always think "can I speak better than my husband (who is monolingual)?" If yes, then I know the language
I know four languages.
Dear Steve I have a question and I'll appreciate if you enlighten me. Is translate an article or book from English to Persian(my native language) along with other methods, a good idea for learning English? or this has bad effects and interfere with my procedure of learning?
Türkçeniz gayet anlaşılır hocam 😍
20 languages realy impressive
I can't get over the concept of learning 20 different words for Vacum Cleaner and remember them all! How can a human brain do this? Or 20 words for gate who who knows number number of nouns.
the thing is, a lot of them are going to be related. like the word for tea in most langauges is tea, te, chai, or something very close to that. you aren't learning a new word for tea, you are just learning a variation. another thing is if a word is rarely used, you wouldn't need to know it to know the language. i've been studying spanish for 6 years and i don't know the word for vacuum cleaner in it. but i'd be able to describe it (a machine that sucks air and cleans the floor or carpet) in simpler words, and people would know what i mean. if you know the most common 10,000 or so words in a language, not knowing the other 90,000 technical and complicated words is not a huge handicap. like there's a limit where learning every last word in a language isn't very useful. like in spanish i know a dozen or so names of different fruits, the common ones, but i don't know the word for starfruit, or the word for jackfruit, or the word for mulberry. but knowing the words for apples, grapes, oranges, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, etc., is going to get you far. you can always just point at it and say 'what's the name of that?'
@@rinkuhero I think you will never learn your language as good as your native one. I would think 99.9% of Native English Speakers would know the word for vacuum cleaner. It's kind of my personal joke to myself. When I start to learn a new language one of the first words I look up is vacuum cleaner. Aspiradora LOL.
trust me, the armenian alphabet definitely does more than irk me! hahaha jk it's actually gorgeous and so much fun to write 🥰
대단합니다. 존경합니다. 감사합니다. !!!
Thanks ❤🎉😅
سلام ، منم درحال یادگیری چندین زبان هستم و ۱۶ سالم هست. چند وقتی بود دنبال چنلی مثل شما بودم که یک مسیر و تجربه ای بهم نشون بده❤ ادامه بدید تسلیم نشید و موفق باشید.
How exactly do you define "passive" vs "active" vocabulary?
Active is the vocabulary that you use and “Passive” are the words that you can read and understand but do not use.
can understand and recognize but it wouldn't come to your mind if you had to translate your own language into that word
Steve, how do you have the time to get enough comprehensible input to grow a language - I struggle to fit in time for learning one!
Lots of listening, and I am retired. If I didn't play golf 3 times a week I would find more time.
Prezado professor, o senhor ja estudou hebraico?
Hi Sir, I appreciate your strive for learning process of all languages. As a native speaker, I understood what u said in Turkish. I watch and follow your contents. 🙏
Selam ve saygılarımla Sayın Kaufmann.